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A Seattle home expands with a stylish in-law apartment that's environmentally sound and pays for itself over time BY GEORGE OSTROW T he view was great. Perched westward on a hill that looks down on Seattle's Portage Bay and the mountains beyond, the house had location written all over it. However, at three stories tall and 20 ft. wide, the 1980 structure resembled a glorified tree house that had been plunked down in the middle of the site (inset photo, facing page). New owners Mark and Mollie Huppert bought the house in 2000 and immediately set out to reorganize the interior and to add a separate apartment that would complete the look of the entire structure. More space from the same footprint Remodeling the original house came first. Organized around a central staircase, the original design separated the water-view front rooms from the rooms at the back (floor plans, p. 76). To give the kitchen a slice of the view to the west, we opened up the wall between the kitchen and the living room. On the top floor, we moved the dressing area into an under-roof space adjacent to the master bedroom (photo p. 76). That move freed the former closet space for a doublesink vanity, over which we added a new skylight for headroom and light. The original house had only one bedroom, so we waterproofed the second-floor deck and added a room below; then we converted the first-floor den into an entry hall and a guest bedroom. The homeowners use the new front room on the first floor as a study; 74 FINE HOMEBUILDING